The Merry Wives of Windsor |
Scene Summaries
Timeline of Events
Meanwhile
Slender, Doctor Caius, and Fenton all attempt to woo Anne Page.
Act 1, Scene 1
Soon after
Falstaff plots to seduce Mistresses Page and Ford.
Act 1, Scene 3
Within a day
Mistresses Ford and Page receive identical love letters from Falstaff.
Act 2, Scene 1
Almost immediately after
The "merry wives" plan their revenge on Falstaff.
Act 2, Scene 1
That same day
In disguise, Ford plots to learn of Falstaff's intentions and deeds.
Act 2, Scene 1
Later that day
Doctor Caius and Sir Hugh plan—and cancel—a duel.
Act 2, Scene 3
Next morning
Ford assembles a search party to catch Falstaff in his house.
Act 3, Scene 2
Meanwhile
Falstaff, hiding in a laundry basket, is dumped into the Thames.
Act 3, Scene 3
Later that day
Falstaff agrees to meet Mistress Ford again.
Act 3, Scene 5
Next morning
Visiting Mistress Ford, Falstaff is tricked into dressing as an old woman to flee the house.
Act 4, Scene 2
Soon afterward
The Fords and the Pages plan an elaborate final prank to embarrass Falstaff.
Act 4, Scene 4
That night
The other two suitors make their own plans to elope with Anne.
Act 5, Scene 2
After midnight
Falstaff visits Windsor Park in disguise, as instructed.
Act 5, Scene 5
Immediately
Falstaff is mocked and tormented by a troupe of children disguised as fairies.
Act 5, Scene 5
Meanwhile
Fenton elopes with Anne while the other two suitors run off with decoys.
Act 5, Scene 5
Later that night
The Pages accept their daughter's marriage to Fenton.
Act 5, Scene 5
Scene Summaries Chart
Scene
Summary
Act 1, Scene 1
Justice Robert Shallow has just arrived in Windsor, accompanied by his nephew Abraham Slender and Sir Hugh Evans, a cler...
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Act 1, Scene 2
In front of the Page residence, Sir Hugh hands Simple a letter to deliver to Mistress Quickly, Doctor Caius's housekeepe...
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Act 1, Scene 3
Falstaff arrives at the Garter Inn with his gang of followers: Bardolph, Nym, Pistol, and Robin the page. When Falstaff ...
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Act 1, Scene 4
Simple visits Mistress Quickly at the home of her employer, Doctor Caius. She tells John Rugby, the Doctor's manservant,...
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Act 2, Scene 1
Back at the Pages' house, Mistress Page is reading a love letter. It is full of over-the-top rhetoric and bad poetry and...
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Act 2, Scene 2
This long scene takes place at the Garter Inn and consists of several conversations between Falstaff and other character...
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Act 2, Scene 3
In a field outside Windsor, Doctor Caius is ready to fight his duel with Sir Hugh, who hasn't yet arrived. As Doctor Cai...
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Act 3, Scene 1
The scene shifts to a field outside Frogmore, in the neighborhood of Windsor Castle. Sir Hugh walks onstage carrying a b...
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Act 3, Scene 2
Robin walks with Mistress Page on a street in Windsor. The two encounter Ford, who asks how Robin came into Mistress Pag...
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Act 3, Scene 3
At the Ford residence, Mistress Ford and Mistress Page brew up a prank for the unsuspecting Falstaff. Mistress Ford orde...
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Act 3, Scene 4
Meanwhile at the Page home, Fenton is attempting to woo Anne Page. He hints she should simply elope with him because her...
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Act 3, Scene 5
Back in his room at the Garter Inn, Falstaff calls for wine. As Bardolph runs to fetch it, Falstaff complains about near...
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Act 4, Scene 1
On a street in Windsor, Mistress Quickly meets with Mistress Page and her son William. She reports Falstaff's intention ...
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Act 4, Scene 2
Back at the Ford house, Falstaff woos Mistress Ford with flattering speeches. Mistress Page calls from offstage, prompti...
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Act 4, Scene 3
At the Garter Inn, Bardolph informs the Host his three German guests require horses to go pay their respects to a visiti...
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Act 4, Scene 4
At the Ford residence, Mistress Page and Mistress Ford reveal Falstaff's love letters to their husbands. Sir Hugh is als...
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Act 4, Scene 5
Back in the Garter Inn, Simple has come to pay a visit to "the wise woman of Brentford," whom he saw going into Falstaff...
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Act 4, Scene 6
Elsewhere in the Garter Inn, Fenton offers the Host a handsome sum if he will help him elope with Anne Page. He explains...
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Act 5, Scene 1
Back at the Garter Inn, Falstaff tells Mistress Quickly he will go along with Mistress Ford's plan to meet in the park a...
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Act 5, Scene 2
That night in Windsor Park, Page meets with Shallow and Slender. They rehearse the latter's plot to steal away with Anne...
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Act 5, Scene 3
Meanwhile, Mistresses Page and Ford are on their way to the park with Doctor Caius. Mistress Page and the Doctor discuss...
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Act 5, Scene 4
Sir Hugh leads a group of schoolchildren toward Windsor Park. All, including him, are disguised as fairies. He instructs...
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Act 5, Scene 5
Falstaff, wearing a deer's head complete with antlers, arrives at the appointed meeting spot in Windsor Park. Lustfully ...
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